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Day of Prayer for Refugees and Migrants

A Day of Prayer for Refugees and Migrants is set aside each year to fall as close as possible to World Refugee Day on 20 June. Caritas prepares resources for this day on behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

“Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age.”

Pope Francis, 2018, Message for the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2018

In 2018, the Day of Prayer for Refugees and Migrants is Sunday 17 June.

During the past year, we have witnessed the development of the Rohingya refugee crisis which has led to the displacement of more than 900,000 Rohingya people, as well the ongoing devastating impact of drought and civil war in South Sudan and in Syria.

In the annual Papal message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees this year, Pope Francis reiterates our shared response to the many migrants and refugees around the world fleeing from war, poverty, natural disasters, and persecution. We are called to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate every stranger for the sake of their fundamental dignity.

In response to the many refugee crises, we have seen a swell of generosity and welcome from communities and parishes in New Zealand.

This Day of Prayer for Refugees and Migrants, we take the opportunity to share stories of welcoming, protecting, promoting, and integrating. We invite communites around New Zealand to join us.